Smile
by StormLover
Summary: A simple story that explores how one mutant learned how a small gesture can make a big difference. ROLO one shot. Please Read and Review!


Smiles. Those were the things that greeted him in the mornings. Smiles he couldn't help but return. In the beginning, it felt strange and on one level, a bit foolish but like all things when you do it consistently over time, it becomes a habit.

This habit was a big step for him. He was a person who spent the last few years of his life as a loner and smiling wasn't something he did often. Hell, before coming to the place he now considered home (even that was a foreign concept), he could probably count the number of times he smiled or even had a reason to smile on one hand.

Now, thanks to a happenstance meeting, it was something he did many times a day. He had been out traveling on the open road and had stopped at a local pub. It looked like his kinda place, though when he entered, it looked less like a pub and more like a restaurant but he shrugged and headed to the bar, ordering a beer.

As he waited for his order, he heard a feminine voice ordering several drinks. Her scent drew his attention and he looked over and was shocked to see a tall black woman, tastefully dressed with long white hair. She must have felt him looking because she looked at him and she had the prettiest blue eyes he had ever seen on a woman. Taken aback, he didn't realize he was staring until she smiled and spoke to him.

"I get that a lot," she said simply as the bartender presented her with a tray ladled with several drinks, "Enjoy your evening." She went to take the tray and he moved by instinct.

"Allow me," he said, handing her his beer while he took the tray from the counter, "Lead the way."

"Why thank you, kind sir," she replied and led the way to her table where several people sat. He placed the tray on the table top and the woman invited him to join them. Normally he wasn't a people person but he would have been a fool to pass up the opportunity. So he took the vacant seat that just so happened to be right next to the woman, whose name he later learned was Ororo.

To make a long story short, he ended up accepting their invitation to visit their school for the gifted after learning that he too was a mutant. During the evening, his gaze never strayed far from the black beauty and on a number of occasions he wished he could touch her hair, wondering if it was as soft as it looked.

Fast forward two years and the woman whose scent caught his attention, accepted his marriage proposal and six months later, they had a simple ceremony at the mansion he now called home. Several weeks later, they learned she was expecting and they welcomed their beautiful, healthy bundle of joy soon after.

Since that fateful day at the pub there were many things that would make him smile. But none more so than the bundle of energy that was currently headed his way.

"Daddy! Wake up, Daddy!" his baby girl called out as she scrambled up her stairs that gave her access to her parents' bed.

"Daddy," she said panting, out of breath as she laid beside him, looking into his face. He laid on his side, facing the middle of the bed. As was her habit, she gave him a nose kiss, rubbing her nose against his a few times before kissing his forehead. She then touched her forehead to his and breathed deep, taking in his scent.

After a moment, he opened one eye and quickly closed it. When she saw his eye open, Alexisia erupted in a fit of giggles. He peeked again and again she giggled, saying that he was silly.

He opened them both and smiled as he gazed into her blue-grey eyes, taking in her chubby face that held traces of him and his wife. He watched as her white locs, styled today in braids, fell across her shoulder, just begging to be tugged.

And who was he to refuse?

Giving into temptation, he tugged one gently, making her giggle as she threw her arms around his thick neck.

"Hey Daddy," she greeted him.

"Hey Kiddo."

"Had sweet dreams, Daddy?" she asked, still following their daily script.

"The sweetest, baby," he replied, hugging her tight before pulling her up with him as he sat up and threw his legs over the side of the bed.

"Where's Mommy?" he asked, knowing that his wife stood in the doorway.

"She there," his daughter replied, peeking over her father's shoulder at her mother.

As was his custom, he stood with his daughter in his arms as he walked over to greet his wife.

"Hey baby," he said, hugging and kissing her.

"Mornin' love. Sweet dreams?" she asked.

"The sweetest," he replied, gazing lovingly at her.

Their morning proceeded as normal. They ate breakfast together and soon after the dishes were washed and the dining area cleaned, they made their way up the hill along the path that led to the mansion.

The grand structure that was their destination came into view, sitting majestically on a slight elevation, bathed in the brilliance of the morning sun.

Reaching the front door, he kissed his wife and daughter goodbye and made his way to his "office" more commonly known as the Danger Room.

Once he entered the DR as he called it, he left Logan behind and became the Wolverine, the roughest resident at the mansion. A former assassin, he now served as the no nonsense trainer of the elite mutant team, the X-Men. In the DR, his word was law and whoever dared to cross the threshold while he was in his "office", gave their silent agreement and would need to govern themselves accordingly.

He smirked as he heard the doors open, signaling the arrival of his first student. _Right on time_, he thought as he watched his pupil enter his domain. She stood tall and proud. Her normally flowing waist length hair was pulled up and pinned into a tight ball on her head. Her hairstyle put emphasis on her almond shaped, blue eyes that met his gaze with as much seriousness as were displayed in his.

She was clothed in leggings and a tight fitting sleeveless tee that left her midriff exposed. Her exposed chocolate skin shined slightly under the lights in the room. His eyes continued their perusal of her form, falling to her left hand and noticing the tan mark which indicated a missing piece of jewelry.

His questioning gaze lifted to her face and she smiled faintly. "In my locker," she told him.

He nodded silently and began stretching, a cue for her to follow suit. Once they were warmed up, he led her through a series of moves that he repeated until she was able to move though them as fluidly as he.

He smiled as he watched her move. His prized pupil had, after many months, achieved and surpassed the goal he had set for her much faster than expected.

"Good," he complimented her who smiled in response as sweat trickled from her forehead. She continued on, waiting for his next lesson, knowing it was coming.

"Now, let's get to work," he said, throwing a punch at her without warning. She easily defected it, learning that this was his way. He smirked and nodded as he threw another, then another, increasing in speed and intensity as he became more aggressive. She demonstrated her knowledge by responding favorably to his advances while landing a few blows of her own.

"Done," he said, using their code word to indicate the end of their session. Panting, she made her way over to her bag and retrieved a towel, wiping the perspiration from her brow. Draping it across her shoulder, she took a swig from her water bottle. Satisfied, she made her way back over to her instructor and waited for his next move.

He watched as she watched him and he couldn't help but smile as he gazed into her unwavering eyes. She replied to his with one of her own.

"Love ya, darlin'," he told her as he pulled her into his arms for a quick hug and loving kiss.

"Love you too, dear heart," she replied, before using the towel to wipe his brow and face, "See you at lunch?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he replied.

"Until then," she told him, blowing him a kiss before she turned and headed out the door.

He watched her leave, admiring the beauty of the woman who changed the course of his life. He, the Wolverine, had lived a thousand lifetimes in his short years but it wasn't until he found a reason to smile that he truly began to live.

A smile. Something so small, so insignificant to him at one time. Something that he didn't realize he had been missing. Now that something was an easy expression, one that he shared willingly, especially with the two who were the loves of his life.

And all of it wouldn't be if it wasn't for that happenstance meeting in a pub. Since then, he had come to learn that it was the smallest and simplest things that brought the greatest joy. And he owed it all to the woman that helped to put that smile on his face.


End file.
